"Ugly Betty" Recap: Episode 15, "Brothers"

"Ugly Betty" Recap: Episode 15, "Brothers"

As Tim Gunn says at the beginning of this week's "Ugly Betty": "Scandal and sex change and murder, oh my!" When we left off last week, Wilhelmina was about to mount a takeover of Mode, Alexis had revealed herself to her father, and Bradford had been arrested for the murder of Fey Sommers. This week picks up with the power struggle between Daniel, Alexis and Wilhelmina, but there are also some developments in Betty's personal life and yet another twist, so read more

Betty doesn't know if she still has a job, and she blows off a particularly pathetic-looking Walter to race over to Mode. She ends up in the elevator with Alexis, who catches Betty staring and explains the ins and outs of sex changes: The patch on her arm, she says, has hormones so her mustache doesn't grow back. Betty: "Where did you get that? Because I have to bleach all the time." Hee. Betty then runs into Henry, who invites her to see "Wicked," and she tells him she'll only go as friends, on account of Walter.

Daniel has called a meeting, and Marc asks Wilhelmina why Daniel still gets to do that when Willi is supposedly in charge. "Relax, Evita," she tells him, saying their moment will come. Sure enough, Alexis walks in and casually announces that she's in charge, citing the company charter. She names Wilhelmina editor in chief, then fires Daniel. Daniel, though, gets an injunction to halt the takeover, on account of Alexis being a daughter and not a son. Betty loads Daniel up with research on sex changes — including Tootsie — but Daniel tells Betty he's not interested in understanding Alexis.

Wilhelmina decides to prove her worth by leaving in the midst of the crisis, but she also leaves behind a hidden camera so she can watch every move. Meanwhile, Betty's dad tells her that Walter has been offered a job in Maryland, and unless Betty plans on walking down the aisle with him, she'd better let him go.

Justin gets in a fight, and instead of calling Hilda to pick him up, he calls Santos, who oozes homophobia by blaming Justin for liking musicals and Jazzercize (and Hilda for letting him). It turns out, though, that Justin started the fight after the other kid called Hilda slutty. Hilda has a brief foray into conservative dressing, but Justin tells her that if she's going to tell him to be himself, she's going to have to set a good example.

Daniel's mom swings by Mode for some girl talk with Alexis, and Daniel shoves her off to a spa with Betty. That leads to some Betty's First Spa Treatment sight gags, but mostly it lets Betty and Claire hatch a plot to get the siblings to talk. Daniel and Alexis, meanwhile, set up dueling press conferences, with Daniel promising pictures of Alexis with chest hair to anyone who comes to his. Betty barges in and tells them that their mother's gone missing, hint-hinting that maybe she's at a place that used to be meaningful to the family.

They head to Coney Island, where Claire is riding the bumper cars alone. Daniel, Alexis, and Betty climb in, too, and Betty and Claire start bumping the two of them so they can't get out. Alexis confesses that she faked her death to get back at Bradford, who had said he'd rather she die than have a sex change. Daniel asks why Alexis hadn't told him, and she says she didn't want to be rejected twice.

Walter and Betty finally talk, and he admits he's known for a while that their relationship was ending. That should free Betty up for Henry, except that his ex-girlfriend has suddenly arrived in town. Alexis and Daniel, meanwhile, decide to try to work together — and Wilhelmina, watching the exchange on the camera-plant, realizes she's been screwed.

And now, for this week's shocking twist: Daniel sends Betty on an errand to Claire's hotel, and a very drunk Claire ends up telling Betty that Bradford didn't kill Fey — Claire did. Wow, what's Betty going to do with that?

I hadnt really liked Claire thus far, but she was great last night. I loved the scenes at the spa, and her threatening to stand up to get Betty to talk.
And when Ignacio came down to Mode to talk to Betty and then makes a crack about wanting to take a picture of the he-she was really funny.

Loved the spa scenes--predictable, but cute--and the Fey-Betty bonding. Fey's announcement at the end was quite a bombshell; it will be fun to see where this goes. Even though Betty might be sans boyfriend for awhile, I hope Walter is out of the picture for good; she needs to move on in her personal life just as she has in her professional one. Justin had some of the best message lines last night; like Betty, he is becoming a real role model for independent thinking. Good for him. And speaking of bombshells, Alexis certainly is one in her/his red dress!